Embrapa strengthens the actions of plant quarantine in Brazil

Goal is to make more efficient detection of pests
by Globo Rural Online
Editora Globo

Helicoverpa armigera caused losses of more than U.S. $ 1 billion this season in Brazil (Photo: Fabiano Bastos / Embrapa / Handout)

The steady growth of tourist flows and global trade increases the risk of entry of new pests in Brazil. To address the losses, are spending billions and billions of dollars in chemicals and, in most cases, the damage is irreversible, leading thousands of farmers into bankruptcy.

This prevention has a name: it is called plant quarantine and counts with the effective participation of Embrapa - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - for four decades. Since its inception in 1973, Embrapa develops procedures for import and quarantine of plant genetic materials for breeding programs of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) by delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).

According to the researcher Abi Marques, who works at the plant quarantine for over 20 years, about 85% of the plants coming into the country for research purposes are infected with pests. She explains that the quarantine procedure is part of the "exclusion" of a control action, ie, it should attempt to keep pests out of a certain area where they occur. "Exclusion is technically the best option to prevent the spread of pests," says Marques.

For this, the Embrapa maintains, in one of its 47 research units, Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasilia, DF, one quarantine station that analyzes the sanitary condition of the plant material of research that goes into Brazil. Over the 40 years of operation of the Company, about 80 pests that do not exist in Brazil were detected and eliminated at the entry point, quarantine due to the activity of Embrapa.

Considering that the damage caused by the entry of a pest in a crop can only reach $ 2 billion, gives to calculate how quarantine activities carried out by Embrapa already represented in terms of savings to the coffers Brazilians.

The quarantine process provides for the analysis of plants by integrated techniques for the diagnosis of their condition plant (that is, whether they are healthy or not). Aims to detect the presence of weeds and pests, insects, mites, viruses, viroids, phytoplasmas, fungi, bacteria and nematodes, primarily those on the lists of quarantine pests absent (A1) and quarantine pests present (A2) for Brazil defined in Instruction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).

The pests listed A1 are exotic, or never reported in Brazil. A2 list of pests are present in limited areas and under official control. If such contamination identified in the material, it is incinerated or sent back to their country of origin.


Mapping

Quarantine actions developed by Embrapa involve constant monitoring of quarantine pests. A recent mapping, conducted in partnership with the SBDA - Brazilian Society of Agricultural Defense, identified 10 new pests with real possibilities to enter Brazil. The study took into account the geographical proximity of the occurrence of pests and the economic importance of crops that can be infected. They are: soybean aphid, whitefly "race Q"; corn lethal necrosis; moniliasis of cocoa; lethal yellowing; Striga; wheat rust; African cassava mosaic; mite Chilean fruit plants and Xanthomonas rice.

But, according to the researcher at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Marcelo Lopes da Silva, who participated in the mapping, this number is actually much higher. "The ten identified in the study are in imminent danger, but there are about 600 quarantine pests threatening crops in Brazil," he says.

To address these challenges, Embrapa created a new unit dedicated exclusively to the quarantine of plants. The goal is to modernize the analysis of seeds and other propagating material being introduced into the country or interchanged with other research institutions.

Losses

To get an idea of ​​the damage that the introduction of a pest may cause to agriculture and the Brazilian economy, simply evaluate the example of a caterpillar newly introduced in the country: Helicoverpa armigera, which emerged this season of 2013, and has caused damage exceeding U.S. $ 2 billion, mainly soybean and cotton. No one knows for sure how she got in Brazil, the most likely hypothesis is that has been flowers or ornamental plants. But the fact is that the pest is now here and may cause damage to more than 30 crops, including soybean, orange, cotton, okra, onion, melon, strawberry, sweet potato, lettuce, tomato, apple, beans, potatoes and corn , among others.

To address the damage caused by this and other plagues that decimated crops in Brazil in the recent past, as the boll weevil and soybean rust, are spending billions and billions of dollars in chemicals and, in most cases, the damage is irreversible, leading thousands of farmers into bankruptcy. Therefore, the ideal is to invest in prevention to prevent exotic pests - which do not occur in Brazil - enter and cause damage to the national coffers and endanger food security.

Rates: U.S. $ 1.00* = R $ 2.30 **

Source: Globo Rural magazine

* Dollar
** Real (Brazilian currency)